Wii Sports Resort, released in July of this year, has 183,520 players reporting data so far.

Wii Fit Plus, released in October, has 38,580 players reporting data.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii, released on November 15, already has 82,358 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel

Sales:

Wii Sports Resort's Amazon.com sale rank was #6 and the current selling price is $47.79.

Wii Fit Plus' Amazon.com sale rank was #1(game with board) and #12 for just the software. The current sell price for Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board is $99.99, and the selling price for just the software is $19.96.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii's Amazon.com sale rank was #3 and Amazon.com won't have the game back in stock, until January 3, but they are selling it for $49.99.

Reviews:

The review score averages for the games have stayed the same since last week, but I wonder if there will be any new reviews for any of these games from reviewers that maybe received any of these games as gifts, but hadn't played them yet.

Prediction:

Back on Friday, December 11, I predicted that New Super Mario Bros. Wii would cross one million game-play hours reported as of Monday, December 28, and as the data shows this week, it did just that.

Then, last Tuesday, December 22, I said, "I'm going to make a guesstimate, and say that New Super Mario Bros. Wii will clock in right around 1,300,000 reported game-play hours on the Nintendo Channel next week." As the data shows, the game had 1,238,485 "Total Hours" reported, making my guesstimate 61,515 hours over my guesstimate, not to shabby I guess for a non-analyst.

Questions:

Did anybody receive New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports Resort, or Wii Fit Plus for Christmas or other holidays? If so, what are your thoughts and opinions about the games from what you've been able to play?

Saturday, December 26, 2009

My wife and I celebrated Christmas today with our families, and this was our son's first Christmas. We've had an enjoyable, but extremely busy, day. I know many of you that read my blog probably had video games on your Christmas list. I don't know if any of you had New Super Mario Bros. Wii on your Christmas list, but if you did, I would like to know if you actually received the game, or did "Santa Clause" have trouble with supply from his shop this year and not deliver it?

I know most of the websites and stores starting in December had trouble keeping the game in stock, I think making it 2009's video game Tickle Me Elmo or Furby. Even Amazon.com now says that New Super Mario Bros. Wii won't be back in stock until January 1.

Pictures from various websites showing New Super Mario Bros. Wii out of stock or backordered. Photos taken on Wednesday, December 23:

Did you receive any games for Christmas, or even a Nintendo Wii Points Card, PSN Card or Xbox Live Arcade Card and purchase any games?

Even if you didn't receive what you wanted for Christmas, I hope you had a great day and were able to enjoy it with friends and/or family.

House of the Dead: Overkill has had 30,824 players report play-time data on the Nintendo Channel, since the game released in February.

The Conduit was released in June, and has had 45,061 players report play-time data on the Nintendo Channel.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy has had 20,708 players report their data, since the game released in August.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] was released just in November and has 7,470 players report data on the Nintendo Channel.

Sales Rank:

Starting this week, I'll show Amazon.com's position for the games and the current selling price, because Amazon.com is usually below the MRSP just a little.

House of the Dead: Overkill's Amazon.com sale rank is #194, and is selling for $13.79.

The Conduit's sale ranked is #665 and is selling for $27.99.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy is ranked #373, and is selling for $35.99 from Amazon.com 2nd Party/3rd Party Sellers, because Amazon.com doesn't have Metroid Prime: Trilogy in stock.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] is ranked #139, with a selling price of $44.99.

Thoughts:
Again, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] was the only game out of these four, this week, to see an increase of game-play data reporting by 1,000 more players than last week. Metroid Prime: Trilogy, for some reason, still isn't in stock on Amazon.com, and it's only available from 2nd or 3rd party vendors.

House of the Dead: Overkill had 621 more players reporting data this week, than last week.
The Conduit had 998 more players reporting data this week.
Metroid Prime: Trilogy had 810 more players reporting data this week.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] gained 1,286 more players reporting data in the last week.

Last week, The Conduit needed just 18,658 reported play-time hours to cross one million "Total" game-play hours, and it actually gained 24,672 game-play hours this past week, crossing one million "total" game-play hours reported.

I think it will be interesting to see how these games perform in the few weeks following Christmas, and if we'll be able to tell from the number of players reporting data, if it looks like gamers received some of these games as gifts.Did any of these games make your Christmas list?

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Wii Sports Resort was released in July of this year, and has 169,824 players reporting data so far.

Wii Fit Plus was released in October, and has 30,410 players reporting data.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii was just released last month, on November 15, and already has 62,152 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel.

Sales:

Wii Sports Resort's Amazon.com sale rank was #4 and the current selling price is $46.99.

Wii Fit Plus' Amazon.com sale rank was #1(game with board) and #10 for just the software. The current sell price for Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board is $89.99, and the selling price for just the software is $19.96.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii's Amazon.com sale rank was #2 and Amazon.com is currently back-ordered on the game, until December 26!

Reviews:

The review score averages for the games has stayed the same, only New Super Mario Bros. Wii gained three more review scores, bringing it to 76 "critic" reviews and counting.

Thoughts:

I actually just tonight, beat the original Super Mario Bros., I downloaded it off the Virtual Console probably more than a year ago, and just tonight sat down and beat it. I can definitely see how the game was a great foundation for Nintendo to build upon for the future Mario games.

I also wonder, how many(if any) of the people playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii, never played the original Super Mario Bros., just something I thought about tonight while playing.

Prediction:

The same as last week, I'll keep this until the data for Monday, December 28, is updated and I can see if my "prediction" was right. Unless the Nintendo Channel crashes like it did earlier in the year, I'm guessing my prediction will be correct and New Super Mario Bros. Wii will cross one million game-play hours reported on the Nintendo Channel.

I'm going to make a guesstimate, and say that New Super Mario Bros. Wii will clock in right around 1,300,000 reported game-play hours on the Nintendo Channel next week.

Questions:

To any of the readers that have already bought and played through New Super Mario Bros. Wii, if you've beaten the game, have you found yourself going back to play it again? Or is one play-through of the game enough for you? If you've beaten it just once, how many hours did it take you to beat?

Sunday, December 20, 2009

It was around September 24, 2008 when I first learned of Legendary Wars: T-Rex Rumble, and I saw a picture that showed it as a DS game.

(Original picture I saw, showing the game as a DS game)

I visited Interplay.com earlier this morning, and was surprised to see a new video on their front page showing nearly 10 minutes of Legendary Wars: T-Rex Rumble game-play footage. I read the description on the new video, and noticed it said T-Rex Rumble was now going to be available through DSiWare. So, I decided to send some questions to Interplay, for clarification, and Eric Caen from Interplay replied very quickly to the email, answering the questions I sent over.

Here's the questions/answers about Legendary Wars: T-Rex Rumble for DSiWare:

CWG Question1: How many Nintendo points will the game cost? If the price isn't finalized yet, can you provide the range of points you believe the game will fall into?

Eric: "Price isn't defined yet. Probably in 800+ range."

CWG Question2: What ESRB rating are you hoping the game will get?

Eric: "E rating is definitely what we hope. Violence is limited to dino bashing, and TRex swallowing some soldiers sometimes."

CWG Question3: The video states that, "After four years of effort, producer Eric Caen is proud to present Rob Stevens masterpiece: Legendary Wars: T-Rex Rumble for the Nintendo DS/DSi."

Is the game going to be available also on the Nintendo DS, or just on the DSi through DSiWare?

Eric: "We have a plan to release a big version of DS/DSi gamepak but we don't know [a] release date yet. We are focusing on DSiWare for the moment."

CWG Question4: Did any other people/studios, other than Rob Stevens, JM Philibert, and MZone Studio, work on Legendary Wars: T-Rex Rumble?

Eric: "Rob, Jean-Marie Philibert and Mzone are the only one[s]. Before Mzone joined, we had a first version of the graphics done by Gabba in Brazil.

CWG Question5: Is the game single-player only, or will it include any type of multi-player via WiFi connection?

Eric: "Single player only."

CWG Question6: Are the controls in the game stylus controls only, or will it also use the D-Pad, or any other buttons?

Eric: "Stylus and touchscreen are very important. Some dpad movement[s] are possible."

Other Questions:

I asked Mr. Caen if the DSiWare version would feature the t-rex, mammoth, and pterodactyl, like the video showed from November 2008.

Eric said, "Only the T-Rex is in the DSiWare version. There are different skilled units and the shaman."

(T-Rex as shown in video) (picture of character classes perhaps)

When I asked about a possible month for release, Eric said that a release date will depend on the "approval process", so he couldn't provide a precise release date, but Eric did say, "...March is certainly highly possible, also February, January sounds more challenging."

Final Question:

CWG Question: Is there any other information on Legendary Wars: T-Rex Rumble, that you would like interested gamers to know about at this time...?

Eric: "With the custom engine we have developed for the Legendary Wars, we have tried to create the most advance[d] RTS interface of [the] DS, with lasso, clever group attachment, contextual commands, all using the touch screen.

Our goal is, if T-Rex Rumble is appreciated, to develop other Legendary Wars using the same engine..."

Here's the new video of Legendary Wars: T-Rex Rumble:

The description for the video reads:

"Early 2010, Interplay will release this 3D DS game thru the DSiWare Shop:

A commenter on the video questioned aboutthe, "variety of units to produce...", to which Eric Caen stated, "There are 5 different skilled units to produce including a shaman which casts different spells".

The same commenter asked, "Is there any sort of base building and unit production or is it a case of a set skirmish with a pre-defined selection of units to complete the job with?"

Eric Caen replied, "[In] the game player must produce the soldiers to complete tasks and missions. Some kind can be generated only after some key objects are found and brought back in the village".

If you own a DSi, and have experience with DSiWare, does this look like a game that would interest you?

A big thanks to Eric Caen from Interplay for responding to my questions and answering them so quickly!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The data presented here was captured 34 days after both games released, so it's basically comparing apples to apples, when talking about the data reported on the Nintendo Channel for both games.

"Total" Game-Play Hours Reported:

The Conduit had 263,608 "Total" hours of reported game-play 34 days after it released.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] had only 138,726 "Total" hours of reported game-play 34 days after it released.

In the first 34 days, The Conduit beat Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] by 124,882 "Total" reported game-play hours.

Number of Players Reporting Data:

The Conduit had 16,743 players reporting game-play data on the Nintendo Channel, 34 days after it's release.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] had 6,184 players reporting game-play data on the Nintendo Channel, 34 days after it's release.

The Conduit had 10,559 more players reporting game-play data 34 days after it's release, than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] did 34 days after it released.

Average Total Hours Per Person:

This piece of data I find extremely interesting.

The Conduit averaged 15 Hours 46 Minutes of play-time, "Per person", 34 days after it released on June 23.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] averaged 22 Hours 27 Minutes of play-time, "Per person", 34 days after it released on November 10.

As of the data on the Nintendo Channel on December 14, 2009, The Conduit has averaged 22 Hours 16 Minutes of play-time "Per person", since it released back in June.

In just 34 days since it released, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] has passed The Conduit's average play-time, "Per person".

Reviews:

The review score average is not based off of data 34 days after both games released.

The Conduit has a MetaCritic.com review score average of 69% out of 100%, based off of 79 "critic" reviews.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] has a MetaCritic.com review score average of 77% out of 100%, based off of 35 "critic" reviews.

Thoughts/Questions:

Kotaku.com's, Stephen Totilo has tracked and shown "The 10 Most Avidly-Played Wii Games", according to the average hours "Per person", for several months now. Call of Duty: World at War currently sits in 4th place overall, with an average of 50 Hours 48 Minutes "Per person".

Being that Call of Duty: World at War was released in November 2008, and with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] already at 22 Hours 27 Minutes average play-time "Per person", I wonder if it will join Stephen Totilo's "Top 10" most played games chart on the Wii within the next year?

I've only played The Conduit, and I enjoyed the single-player campaign, and I enjoyed the multi-player, when it functioned properly.

If you have played both The Conduit and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex], I would love to know which game you think is better, and your reasons why you favor one game over the other.

House of the Dead: Overkill has had 30,203 players report play-time data on the Nintendo Channel, since the game released in February.

The Conduit was released in June, and has had 44,063 players report play-time data on the Nintendo Channel.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy has had 19,898 players report their data, since the game released in August.

Last, but definitely not least(well, maybe), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] was released just in November and has 6,184 players report data on the Nintendo Channel.

Sales Rank:

Starting this week, I'll show Amazon.com's position for the games and the MSRP, which Amazon.com is usually below the MRSP just a little.

House of the Dead: Overkill's Amazon.com sale rank is #242, and it's MSRP is $19.99.

The Conduit's sale ranked is #499 and it's MSRP is $29.99.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy is ranked #422, with an MSRP of $49.99.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] is ranked #73, with an MSRP of $49.99.

Thoughts:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] was the only game out of these four, this week, to see an increase of game-play data reported by 1,000 more players than last week. Metroid Prime: Trilogy, for some reason, isn't in stock on Amazon.com now, and it's only available from 2nd or 3rd party vendors on Amazon.com.
If The Conduit can pull in another 20,000 hours of reported game-play by next week, it will finally cross 1,000,000 "Total Hours" reported played.

The review score averages for the games has stayed the same, only New Super Mario Bros. Wii gained one more review score to it's total, bringing it to 73 "MetaCritic" reviews and counting.

Thoughts/Questions:

It should be noted, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, at the time of this post(Dec. 16, 12:45am), is sold out on Amazon.com, Target.com, ToysRUs.com, and is backordered on BestBuy.com.

As of around 8:10pm(EST) WalMart.com was sold out of the game as well, but looks to have it back in stock now.

I can't recall the last time a game was selling out like this, just consoles. Can anybody else recall a game selling out like New Super Mario Bros. Wii has been doing for the last week on various websites?

Last week I stated, "The sale ranks for the three games on Amazon.com, probably don't reflect the true sales, because Amazon.com did actually sell out of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and won't have the game back in stock until Dec. 13! While Amazon is doing pre-orders, it's probably definitely affected sales of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, with customers going elsewhere to buy the game online."

From the data I've seen, with the different websites being out of stock this week, it looks like that may very well be true. While Amazon.com did get New Super Mario Bros. Wii back in stock on December 13, it sold out again that same day!

Something I find interesting:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii gained 10,642 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel this week, making its total 51,180. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is now ahead The Conduit, in total numbers of players reporting play-time data on the Nintendo Channel.

To any of the readers that have already bought and played through New Super Mario Bros. Wii, if you've beaten the game, have you found yourself going back to play it again? Or is one play-through of the game enough for you?

Prediction:

The same as last week, I'll keep this until the data for Monday, December 28 is updated and I can see if my "prediction" was right.

*Update: As of 2:30p.m.(12/16/2009) ToysRUs.com and WalMart.com had New Super Mario Bros. Wii back in stock, while sites like Amazon.com, Target.com, BestBuy.com, and even GameStop.com, were either out of stock or backordered on New Super Mario Bros. Wii!

The Nintendo DS had one title make the NPD "Top 20", and that title was Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

The odd game listing in the NPD "Top 20" was the "value game bundle" on the Wii, which appeared twice on the list. The NPD hasn't provided any further data on the "value game bundle", so unless they do, there is just speculation as to what games those may have been.

Out of the eight Wii games in the November "Top 20", the only one that was actually released in November, was New Super Mario Bros. Wii which was released on November 15.

How have these games performed game-play wise? Well, with data from the Nintendo Channel and MetaCritic.com, we can see how many reported hours these games have been played and also how they've been reviewed by the gaming community at large. Let's take a look:

(click photo to enlarge)

(click photo to enlarge)

The Nintendo Channel/NPD Data Breakdown:

Wii Sports Resort was released in July of this year, and has 157,400 players reporting data so far.

Wii Sports Resort was ranked 6th overall in the NPD "Top 20".

Wii Fit Plus was released in October, and has 24,759 players reporting data.

Wii Fit Plus was ranked 7th in the NPD "Top 20".

New Super Mario Bros. Wii was just released last month, on November 15, and already has 40,538 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii was ranked 3rd in the NPD "Top 20", behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Mario Kart Wii was released in April of 2008 and since then has had 1,332,046 players report play-time data on the Nintendo Channel.

Mario Kart Wii was ranked 10th in the NPD "Top 20".

Wii Play was released on February 12, 2007 and has had 1,660,939 players report their play-time data since it released.

Wii Play was ranked 11th in the NPD "Top 20".

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games was just released in October, and has 9,920 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel...maybe more people are waiting for the Olympic Winter Games ti start before they buy this game and actually play it?

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter games was ranked 12th in the NPD "Top 20".

Reviews:

As the pictures show, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is currently the highest rated game out of these, sitting at 87% out of 100%. Wii Play, the game that has sold the most of all games this console generation, is sitting at the lowest review score average, 58% out of 100%. I think I would rather pay $50 for Wii Play, and get an extra controller that actually functions, than to pay $120 for Tony Hawk: RIDE and a controller(board) that doesn't seem to function well at all.

Of the other games, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort both average 80% out of 100% and Mario Kart Wii is at 82% out of 100%.

I do find it interesting, that out of the "main" games, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games has the lowest average review score and also has the lowest reported play-times.

Thoughts/Questions:

I think it's pretty crazy how well some of these games are still selling, and how poorly some other games are selling(games like Uncharted 2 on the PS3 falling off after one month!). Out of the six Wii games shown here, I actually don't own any of them(and I don't know what the "value game bundle" consisted of). I also don't own Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Do you own any of these games? If so, did you purchase them recently, or did you get them right after they were released?

Friday, December 11, 2009

Wii Sports Resort was released in July of this year, and has 157,400 players reporting data so far.

Wii Fit Plus was released in October, and has 24,759 players reporting data.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii was just released last month, on November 15, and already has 40,538 players reporting data on the Nintendo Channel.

While Wii Sports Resort currently has 100,000 more players reporting data than New Super Mario Bros. Wii(and Wii Fit Plus), New Super Mario Bros. Wii is gaining hours and players reporting data on a faster basis, than Wii Sports Resort did when it released.

I wonder how long it will take New Super Mario Bros. Wii to catchup with Wii Sports Resort.

As the picture shows, New Super Mario Bros. Wii has the highest review score average, being at 87% out of 100%. Both Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus have a review score average of 80% out of 100%.

Thoughts:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii hasn't been out a full month yet, but it has already passed a casual game like Wii Fit Plus, and has almost passed a core game like The Conduit, in the number of players that are reporting data for it on the Nintendo Channel.

The sale ranks for the three games on Amazon.com, probably don't reflect the true sales, because Amazon.com did actually sell out of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and won't have the game back in stock until Dec. 13! While Amazon is doing pre-orders, it's probably definitely affected sales of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, with customers going elsewhere to buy the game online.

Prediction:

So, this will be my first "prediction" or maybe stating a "Captain Obvious", but I'm going to say that New Super Mario Bros. Wii will cross ONE million total hours played, by Monday, December 28.

What week do you think New Super Mario Bros. Wii will cross one million total hours played?

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Last week I said it, this week it's happened. Instead of The Conduit, Wii Sports Resort, Punch-Out, and EA Sports Active being compared, we'll take a look at games in a similar category, and see how they are performing. Today's data is for First-Person games, games that take place in a first-person perspective.

This week the data is for:

House of the Dead: Overkill, The Conduit, Metroid Prime: Trilogy, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex].

(click photo to enlarge)

Nintendo Channel Data Breakdown:

House of the Dead: Overkill has had 29,772 players report play-time data on the Nintendo Channel, since the game released in February.

The Conduit was released in June, and has had 43,252 players report play-time data on the Nintendo Channel.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy has had 19,178 players report their data, since the game released in August.

Last, but definitely not least(well, maybe), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] was released just in November and has 4,949 players report data on the Nintendo Channel.

Sales Rank:

Starting this week, I'll show Amazon.com's position for the games and the MSRP, which Amazon.com is usually below the MRSP just a little.

House of the Dead: Overkill's Amazon.com sale rank is #352, and it's MSRP is $19.99.

The Conduit's sale ranked is #526 and it's MSRP is $29.99.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy is ranked #415, with an MSRP of $49.99.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] is ranked #92, with an MSRP of $49.99.

Thoughts:

I find it interesting that a new IP, The Conduit, has more players reporting data than House of the Dead: Overkill and Metroid Prime: Trilogy. Both House of the Dead: Overkill and Metroid Prime: Trilogy come from established franchises, and I would have thought their name recognition would have helped one of them have more players reporting game-play data on the Nintendo Channel than The Conduit, but neither one does.

Again, The Conduit has 43,252 players reporting data, compared to House of the Dead's 29,772, and Metroid Prime: Trilogy's 19,178.

Questions:

Did you purchase any of these four games? If so, which ones and what are you opinions of them?

I didn't purchase House of the Dead: Overkill, but I did purchase The Conduit the day it released. As for the other two, I'm on the fence still with Metroid Prime: Trilogy, hoping for a price drop on it, whereas I do plan on getting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] in the near future.

So how has Tony Hawk: RIDE continued to perform well on Amazon.com's sales chart, after the horrible review scores for the game?

Take a look at Tony Hawk: RIDE's Amazon.com sales data for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, over 8 days, taken at random times during the days.

(Click photo to enlarge)

Things to Consider

Tony Hawk: RIDE Advertising:

As of my searching today, I found only one TV commercial for Tony Hawk: RIDE and you can watch it for yourself.

I don't know if there are other commercials for Tony Hawk: RIDE, but this commercial shows a lot of board movement, with very few in game moves associated with the board's motions. Is this sole TV commercial the reason for Tony Hawk: RIDE's sales data on the Wii, and even PS3 and 360, to rise from their late November sales rankings on Amazon.com? Are there other TV commercials for the game I didn't find?

Tony Hawk: RIDE Reviews:

The last time I posted up Amazon.com's sale data for Tony Hawk: RIDE, there were only a few review scores for the game on each console. As the "comic" strip showed, Tony Hawk: RIDE is currently averaging less than 50% on review scores for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Take a look at the average review score for each console version of the game:

Now you may be thinking after seeing the average review scores, "Well, the Wii version does have a higher average, so maybe it's the better game and that's why it's selling better?" Well, if you take a close look at the picture, it shows that the Xbox 360 version has been reviewed by 19 reviewers, the PS3 version by 9 reviewers, and the Wii version by only 4 reviewers. The reason for some of this, is that when a PS3 copy is reviewed, they often will count it as the Xbox 360 review as well, and vice versa. This means that lot of reviewers, though Tony Hawk: RIDE is essentially the same game on all consoles, aren't showing a review score for the Wii version.

Do you think the Amazon.com data shows that a Wii game can sell well, regardless of review scores, as long as it's advertised on TV? Should Wii owners(and others) be able to return the game and board, if it doesn't perform like it's expected? Or, are people buying the game responsible for knowing how the game plays, before they buy it?

If you've purchased Tony Hawk: RIDE and believe the reviewers are way off base, like Tony Hawk himself does, please leave a comment and let me know what you think of the game!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Nintendo released Wii Sports Resort this past summer, on July 26. Wii Sports Resort was Nintendo's debut title showing off Wii Motion +. Nintendo used Wii Sports Resort in a variety of ways to show players the new level of control possible in games, now thanks to Wii Motion +.

On November 15, Nintendo released New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It was a return to 2D platforming for Mario, something that hasn't been done on a console since the SNES. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the first console 2D Mario game that offered a simultaneous multi-player experience in the game.

The Observance:

Both Wii Sports Resort and New Super Mario Bros. Wii have debuted and have data being shown on the Nintendo Channel. Which game accumulated more play-time in the first two weeks after they released?

Take a look:

(click photo to enlarge)

The Nintendo Channel Data Breakdown

Wii Sports Resort had 221,213 Total game-play hours showing, 15 days after it released.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii had 283,363 Total game-play hours showing, 15 days after it released.

EA Sports Active was the only game of the four this week, to see it's Amazon.com sales rank decrease.

Last week, EA Sports Active was ranked #6 in video games, and when I captured the data this week it was ranked #50.

The Conduit increased to #586, from #645 last week, on Amazon.com's video game sales rank.

Punch-Out!! increased from #219 last week, to #187 this week.

Wii Sports Resort increased on Amazon.com's sales rank from #9 last week, to #4 this week.

Thoughts:

Wii Sports Resort, as well as other Nintendo titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board are continuously ranking in the Top 10 on Amazon.com's overall video game sales rank page. Take a look at Amazon.com's Top 10 sales in the video game category, at the time of posting this:

(click photo to enlarge)

Something New:

This should be the last week for these games to be compared directly, I'm doing a "reorganization" of sorts and it should start fresh next week! Until then, are there any games you've picked up recently on the Wii(or other consoles) that you've been enjoying and putting many game-play hours into? Are you playing any of the four games compared in this article? If so, leave a comment and let me know what you think of them!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Earlier today, I posted up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex]'s Nintendo Channel debut data.
After looking at the data, you may be think, "Well, how did Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] debut compared to The Conduit and perhaps Metroid Prime: Trilogy?"
It does seem that the FPS market on the Wii is one that is neglected for the most part, after-all, it's Wii owners that got stuck with the holidays with only ONE first-person shooter, and it's a two year old port of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

The Pre-Match Talk:
The Conduit boasted before the match, that it was going to have the best controls for a FPS on the Wii, the most robust online multi-player, as well as some powerful graphics, flying high above the rest of the competition. The Conduit was hyped up and many thought it would easily knock-out any FPS game before it on the Wii.
Metroid Prime Trilogy boasted before the match, that it would be bringing old school talent, but with new moves, and it would give you the most for your money in one package.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] was extremely humble before the match, not really speaking out much about himself, and some say his former agent(Infinity Ward) had a lot to do with keeping him quiet and humble.

So, in their debut match in the Nintendo Channel Data ring, which game came out on top? Let's take a look:

The Match Performance Breakdown

Days:

13 days from when The Conduit released, that's how long it took The Conduit to debut with data on the Nintendo Channel.

21 days from when it released, that's how long it took for Metroid Prime Trilogy's Nintendo Channel debut.

20 days, that's how many days it took Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] to have game-play data reported on the Nintendo Channel.
Days verdict: The Conduit delivered a stunningly fast performance and blasted both Metroid Prime Trilogy and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] with it's speedy attacks, showing it's 13 days of game-play couldn't be beat by just name recognition for the other two.

Players:

6,963 players reported data for The Conduit's Nintendo Channel debut.

5,415 players had reported data by the time Metroid Prime Trilogy debuted on the Nintendo Channel.

3,748 players reported the data for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex]'s debut.
Player verdict: Again, The Conduit showed in this match-up that talking trash and bragging loudly about yourself before a match can help you have fans showing up to support you.
The Conduit had 1,548 more fans(players) than Metroid Prime Trilogy and 3,215 more fans than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex].

Nintendo Channel Total Hours:

74,522 total hours were reported for The Conduit's debut.

63,930 total hours were reported for Metroid Prime Trilogy's debut.

65,114 total hours were reported for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex]'s debut.
Total Hours verdict: Again, The Conduit outperformed the Metroid Prime Trilogy and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] in this category.

17 Hrs. 22 Min. reported per gamer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex]'s Nintendo Channel debut.
Hours Per Fan(Person) verdict: Though Call of Duty: Modern Warfare [Reflex] may have lost the debut match overall to The Conduit, Call of Duty's fans were the most dedicated in giving of their time for support. They were outnumbered by more than 3,000 fans for The Conduit, but Call of Duty's fans must have been camping out late, and stayed late long after the match had ended, and it shows with their match(game) time per person, being nearly 6 hours longer than Metroid Prime Trilogy and nearly 7 hours longer than The Conduit.

In the end, I believe it was the hype for The Conduit that High-Voltage Software was able to create for the game, that allowed it to perform better than Metroid and Call of Duty in their first debut.
Will there ever be a rematch? Perhaps in the future, but for now, The Conduit can boast having the best FPS debut on the Nintendo Channel for 2009.

Have you played any of these games? If so, are you still playing them or have you moved on to something else? Also, if you watch wrestling now, or have in the past, do you have a favorite wrestler? Check the comments for my favorite wrestler!

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